OverviewA teacher who helped shape Islamic law by carefully discussing real questions with his students.CategoryScholarPeriodc. 699 – 767 CE
His workHe earned his living through trade while teaching in Kufa.Source: TDV Encyclopaedia of Islam — Abu Hanifa
Learning togetherStudents such as Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani discussed questions with him instead of only listening. Their teaching and books helped spread the legal approach now called Hanafi.Source: TDV Encyclopaedia of Islam — Abu Hanifa
A lasting changeThe Hanafi school of Islamic law is named after him.Source: TDV Encyclopaedia of Islam — Abu Hanifa
His final yearsAbu Hanifa died in Baghdad in 767. Accounts differ about his imprisonment and whether he died in prison or after release. These reports should not be reduced to a certain place of death within the prison.Source: TDV Encyclopaedia of Islam — Abu Hanifa
SourcesOriginal summaries of the cited sources. Qur’anic accounts, later traditions and historical estimates are distinguished; brief profiles do not settle scholarly disagreements.TDV Encyclopaedia of Islam — Abu Hanifa
